Methods and apparatuses for charging of electric vehicles

Abstract

A method of reserving an electric vehicle charging station is disclosed. The method includes: providing an electric vehicle charging station with one or more charging slots, wherein the electric vehicle charging station is configured to receive and manage reservations for the charging slots at the electric vehicle charging station; sending, from a mobile device, a charge transfer request for an electric vehicle of a first user over a network link to a cloud server, wherein the charge transfer request from the mobile device includes identification information and credit account information; authorizing the charge transfer request received at the cloud server using the identification information and credit account information received from the mobile device; and charging the electric vehicle of the first user in a first charging slot at the electric vehicle charging station for a first charging session.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of reserving an electric vehicle charging station, comprising:
 providing the electric vehicle charging station with one or more charging slots, wherein the electric vehicle charging station is configured to receive and manage reservations for the charging slots at the electric vehicle charging station; 
 sending, directly from a mobile device, a charge transfer request for a first electric vehicle of a first user over a network link to a cloud server, wherein the first user is associated with the mobile device and the electric vehicle to be charged, wherein the charge transfer request directly from the mobile device includes identification information and credit account information; 
 authorizing the charge transfer request received at the cloud server using the identification information and credit account information received directly from the mobile device; 
 charging the electric vehicle of the first user in a first charging slot at the electric vehicle charging station for a first charging session, the charging session having a scheduled end time; 
 reserving a second charging session for a second electric vehicle of a second user, the second charging session being scheduled to begin after the scheduled end time of the first charging session; 
 enabling communication between the first user and a second user via the cloud server; 
 facilitating a request from a first mobile device of the first user to a second mobile device of the second user, via the cloud server, to extend the scheduled end time of the first charging session an amount of time for the first user into the second charging session of the second user; 
 facilitating a response from the second user; and 
 if the second user agrees to a modified second charging session, reimbursing the second user, from the first user, for any inconvenience, reduced charging time, or both. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein facilitating the request or facilitating the response comprises facilitating a payment to or from the first user or the second user. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the response comprises a notification of acceptance or rejection of the request. 
     
     
       4. A method of reserving an electric vehicle charging station, comprising:
 providing the electric vehicle charging station with one or more charging slots, wherein the electric vehicle charging station is configured to receive and manage reservations for the charging slots at the electric vehicle charging station; 
 sending, from a mobile device, a charge transfer request for an electric vehicle of a first user over a network link to a cloud server, wherein the first user is associated with the mobile device and the electric vehicle to be charged, wherein the charge transfer request received directly from the mobile device includes identification information and credit account information, wherein the mobile device in a component of the electric vehicle that utilizes a telematics service to communicate directly with the electric vehicle charging station and the cloud server; 
 authorizing the charge transfer request received at the cloud server using the identification information and credit account information received directly from the mobile device; 
 charging the electric vehicle of the first user in a first charging slot at the electric vehicle charging station for a first charging session, the charging session having a scheduled end time; 
 enabling communication between the first user and a second user via the cloud server; 
 receiving a request at the electric vehicle charging station for a charging session from the second user, 
 facilitating a request from a second mobile device of the second user to a first mobile device of the first user, via the cloud server, to occupy the electric vehicle charging station before the scheduled end time of the first charging session; 
 facilitating a response from the first user; and 
 if the first user agrees to a modified first charging session, reimbursing the first user, from the second user, for any inconvenience, reduced charging time, or both. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein facilitating the request or facilitating the response comprises facilitating a payment to or from the first user or the second user. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the response comprises a notification of acceptance or rejection of the request. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the response comprises a reservation ticket for using the charging station. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the reservation ticket comprises at least one of the following: a date; a time; an amount of time remaining on the reservation ticket; a valuation of the reservation ticket; and a designated electric vehicle charging station. 
     
     
       9. A method of queuing available charging spaces at an electric vehicle charging station, comprising:
 receiving a request from a first user, via a mobile device, for placement in a charging station queue; 
 assigning the first user a place in the charging station queue; 
 receiving requests from additional users for placement in the charging station queue; 
 receiving first geolocation information associated with the mobile device and an electric vehicle, and receiving second geolocation information associated with the electric vehicle charging station; 
 determining a distance between a first geolocation of the mobile device and a second geolocation of the electric vehicle charging station using the first geolocation information and the second geolocation information; and 
 sending a message, from electric vehicle charging station, directly to the mobile device based on the distance from the electric vehicle charging station to the mobile device, the message including a notification to a user of the mobile device regarding the availability of slots at the electric vehicle charging station when the mobile device is expected to arrive based on the determined distance, 
 wherein if no slots are available at the electric vehicle charging station, the notification includes an amount of time before a slot at the electric vehicle charging station becomes available and a number of users in the charging station queue when the mobile device is expected to arrive based on the determined distance, and if slots are available at the electric vehicle charging station, the notification includes a remaining number of available slots at the electric vehicle charging station when the mobile device is expected to arrive based on the determined distance. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising notifying the first user that the charging space is available. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising receiving a request from the first user to be notified when a charging space is available. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 sending a request for acceptance or rejection of the charging space to the first user; and 
 receiving a response accepting or rejecting the request by the first user. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein accepting the request places a hold on the charging space that prevents a different user from using the charging space. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 12 , wherein rejecting the request comprises providing the charging space to a subsequent user. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 12 , wherein rejecting the request further comprises notifying a subsequent user that the charging space is available. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 9 , wherein providing the charging space comprises providing the charging space at any charging station amongst a group of charging stations in a geographic location. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the charging station queue has n total places in the queue and the first user is assigned the nth place in the charging station queue. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the message comprises at least one of the following:
 a grid demand response instruction; 
 a grid demand response schedule; 
 a session report; 
 billing data; 
 electricity price data; 
 fault data; and 
 usage data. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the mobile device and the cloud server use data from an in-vehicle telematics platform to forecast an energy load or reserve a charging space for use by the electric vehicle. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 9 , wherein using a reservation ticket to allocate a new place in a charging station queue. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 9 , wherein using a reservation ticket to allocate a new place in a charging station queue based on weighting factors.